Fruit-picker.



J. M. DE OOSTER & N. BATHE. FRUIT PIOKER.

I APPLICATION lIL-ED JAMIE 4, 1912v 1,053,789, Patented Feb, 18. 1913.

ive/"tons l -liaflze J. M. DE COSTER & N. BATHE.

FRUIT PIGKER. APPLICATION FILED JAN.2 1.1912

grueutow Patented Feb. 18, 1913 J. M. DE COS TEE & N. BATHE.

FRUIT PIOKER.

APPLICATION FILED .nmm, 1912.

1,053,789, Patented Feb. 18,1913.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I JULES M. DE COSTER AND NATHANIEL BATHE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

FRUIT-PIGKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 18, 1913.

Application filed January 24, 1912. Serial No. 673,119.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, JULEs M. Dr. Cos'rnn and NATHANIEL Ba'rnn, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented new and useful lmproven'ients in FruitPickers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fruit pickers of that class or type in which a pair of jaws supported by a rod to be carried by the op erator are associated with a flexible tube through which the fruit after being detached is conveyed to a sack or receptacle which may also be carried by the operator.

One object of the present invention is to provide in combination with the jaws that engage and surround the fruit a cutting device mounted upon one of said jaws for outtin or severing the stem of the fruit, enabling the fruit to be detached without pulling it from the stem in a manner which frequently proves injurious to the fruit or to the tree or to both.

A further object of the invention is to provide simple and improved means associated with the jaw operating means for the purpose of actuating the stem cutting device.

A further object of the invention is to improve the construction of the ':onducting tube leading from the jaws to the receptacle, making said tube extensible and collapsible so that the jaw carrying rod may he raised or lowered according to the position of the fruit that is to be detached without straining the tube in the act of raising the rod or causing it to become tangled, thereby ohstructing the descent of the fruit when the rod is lowered. I

A further object of the invention is to provide in connection with the conducting tube simple and eliicient means for partly obstructing the tube so 11 to check the descent of the fruit, said means being partly provided for the purpose of enabling the device to be lbfifil with equal faciht and elliciency for the purpose of picking fruits of various sizes. such as apples. pears. peaches and plums and the like.

With thew and. other ends in view wlnch will readily appear as the nature of the on vention is l'a'tt'er lllliltl' .l(l(l(l, the mine coni ts in the nnproved construction and novcl arrangem nt and combination of parts whic will he hereinafter l'ullv descrilwd and particularly p inted m in [he claims.

, In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the claims maybe resorted to when desired.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the device showing. the supporting rod elevated with reference to the receptacle, and showing the conducting tube correspondingly extended. Fig. 2 is a' perspective View showing the supporting rod lowered with reterence to the receptacle and showing the conducting tube correspondingly collapsed. Fig. 3 is an edge view of the upper or jaw carrying portion of the device, showing the jaws open in the act of receiving a fruit between them. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the same exhibiting the side of the stationary jaw. Fig. 5 is a front elevation seen from the opposite side. Fig. 6 is a top plan view. Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 7 7 in Fig. 4. and showing the jaws closed together. Fig. 8 is an edge view, enlarged, of an intermediate portion of the device. Fig. 9 is an edge view the lower portion of the device showing the conducting tube collapsed. Fig. 10 is a similar view showing the conducting tnbe extended. Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken vertically through the collapsible portion of the coi'idueting tube. Fig. 12 is an enlarged perspective view, showing the operating levers.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The rod or pole of the improved fruit picker may he made up of a plurality of sec tions 1. 1 connected together at their meeting ends by a sleeve 2 enabling the sections.

to be readily separated for convenience in storing or shipping the device. Firmly connected with the upper end of the pole is a stationary jaw consisting of a ring or hoop having a loose cap or covering 4' d-ict C which mainly con tructed of textile'material, such as cotton or canvas. The

lower end of the, duct C includes a section which '-is preferably made up of netting 7,

' said'netting. being suitably connected with a plurality of hoops-8, each of which has an eye 9 slidably engaginga rod or wire 10 which telescopes in a tube 11, the upper end of which is suitably connected with'the rod or pole 1. The duct section composed of the netting 8'and the hoops 9 is adapted to be collapsed,'aswill be readily understood by reference to Fig. 2, and when thus collapsed the h'obps 9 will maintain the netting in unobstructed position with reference to'the in-'- terior of theducts, so that fruits may readily pass through the collapsed section or portir .rofthe tubeor duct. The lower I endof the duct S, which is synonymous with the lower end of the collapsible section of said duct, is suitably connected with the v. mouth of the receptacle consisting ofva sack 12 having hooks 13, whereby it may, besupported'upon the belt of the. operator The sack or receptacle 12 is also provided with an outlet 14 which maybe closed by means ot a draw-string 15. y I

Suitably arranged within the mouth of the receptacle 12 adjacent to theflowe'r end of the duct is a transverse strip of flexible material lfi which constitutes an obstruction to the fruit passing from the duct into the receptacle to break the fall'thereof and enable it to pass into the receptacle-without bruising orinjuring or becoming'bruised or contact with fruits already in.

injured by said receptacle.-

. For thepurp'ose of regulating. the diameter of the duct and adapting the same for fruits of different sizes, obliquely disposed strings 17 are threaded through the mate-' rial ofthe tube adjacent to the outer portion of the circumference of'the latter at points 18 which are a suitable distance apart, said- "strings being guided' around the tube or duct to surround the same. after which they are tied together adjust-ably, as indicated-at v20. It will be readily seen that by loosening or, tightening said strings, the extent to i which the tube or duct may expand circumferentially may-be regulated to obstruct the passage of fruits above a predetermined size, it being found desirable to check the too rapid descent of the fruit. This object, is accomplished in the manner stated with-- out the possibility of injury to the fruit.

The strings 17 act simply as draw-strings whereby the soft flexible material of the tubular duct may be more or less puckered to vary the internal area of said tubular eye 19 through which the draw-strings 1'? what is claimed as new, is,:

,tLof the movable jaw B, which latter-may thus be actuated to move it toward or from the. stationary jaw A. The rod 23 has an are guided. The operating lever 22 has been shown as consisting of a yoke, the same being provided with a cross bar 24 on which a second lever D is fulcrumed, one arm of said lever D constituting a handle 25, while the other arm is connected with the lower end of a link 26 which slides through an eye 27- at the lower end' of a connecting rod 28. The upper end of said rod 28 is connected-with one arm of a bell crank 29 which is fulcrumed upon a keeper 30 that extends upwardly from the stationary jaw A, the other arm of said bell crank being provided with a cutting blade 31 which is adapted to move adjacent to the upper portion of the stationary jaw A for the purpose of severing the stem of a fruit that is held or grasped between the A retracting spring 32 connects the connecting rod or member 28 with the pole '1. I

In the operation of this invention, the

-sack or'receptacle-12 is suspended by means of the hooks 13 from'the belt of the operator'who carries the rod or pole 1 which may be made of bamboo orother light material in one hand, while with the other handv he manipulatesthe operating lever 22 actuate'the movable jaw.B.- When the aws'it andxBarespaced apartin open relation-, fthe devicdispresented to the fruit that. isto belpickedfithe fruit being grasped between the jaws by manipulating the lever 22 to cause the movable jaw to close againstthe stationary jaw. The lever]? is now ac-. tuated tooperate the cutting member carthrough the tubular chute or 'duct' ifitdthe bag or receptacle, the drop being checked.

-by thetransversely disposed flexible member 16. The pole 1 may be raised or lowered to conveniently reachifruits' growing high or low without interfering with the eihciency of the tubular duct or chute-owing to the presence of the collapsible portion of said .duct. I

The-general construction ofthe device is 'simple and inexpensive, and it has been founddhoroughly eiiicient for the purpose for which it is provided. I

Having thus described the invention,

1. In a fruit picker of the type described, a stationary jaw, a movable'jaw connected therewith, a tubular duct connected with the movable jaw, a cutting member movably mounted upon the stationary I jaw and means for actuating the cutting member.

. ,105 riedbythe bell crank 29, thereby severing .the stern of the fruit, which latter by in a trait picker, a stationary jaw mounted upon a pole a bell crank supported upon the stationary jaw and having a cutting member. a movable jaw pivotally connectedwvith the stationary jaw and havin a tubular duet connected therewith, means for actuating the movable jaw, and means for actuating the hell crank carrying; the cutting member.

3. In a fruit pickin; device. annular jaws connected therewith, one stationary and the other pivot-ed. said jaws adapted to sur round the fruit and to engage bet vcen them the stem of such fruit, in combination with at cuttiji tg member movably supported on one of the jaws, means For actuating the pivoted jaw. and additional means for actuating the cutting member.

t. in a fruit picker, a pole constituting a supporting member, a pair of annular hoopshaped jaws mounted on the device, one of said jaws being stationary and the other movable, a flexible cap connected with the stationary jaw, a tubular duct connected with the movable jaw, a cutting member supported upon the stationary jaw, means for actuating the movable jaw to'engag'c a fruit stem between itself and the stationary jaw, and means for actuating the cutting member.

.ln a fruit picker, truit engaging and detaching means. a tubular duet, a receptacle connected therewith, and a strip ol flexible material secured transversely in the mouth of the receptacle transversely of the duct to break the fall of fruit passing through the duct without obstructing its en- .trance into the receptacle.

(3. ln :1 fruit picker of the class described, a duct having a collapsible s tion provided with expandine hoops having eyes, a rod orted l1)t)11 the stationar "aw and havin l a cutting); member, an operating, lever connected with the su jiportme member, a rod connecting the operating lever with the arm ot' the movable jaw, an auxiliary lever fulcrumed upon the o iierating lever, and a rod ((Hlllttjlillfl the auxiliary member with the bell crank carrying the cutting member, said rod including slidably connected mcmbers.

8. in a fruit picker, a supporting member, a stationary jaw carried thereby, a movable jaw hinged upon the stationary jaw and having an arm, a bell crank'mounted upon the stationary jaw and having a cutting memlam, an operating lever mounted on the supporting member, a rod eonnccting said lever with the arm of the movable jaw, an auxiliary lever fulcrumed upon the operating lever, a link connected with one arm of said auxiliary lever, a rod connected with the cutter carrying the bell crank and having an eye through which the link is guided, and a retracting spring connecting said rod with the pole constitutin; the supporting member.

Tn t.estiinou' whereot' we allix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

JUIJICS M. DE COSTEK. NATHANI. L BATHE.

Wit ncsscs:

Josi-zrn ll. l'lnwanns 7 J n us i BHEMNER. 

